Titan follows the same formula, dialing down the horror just a bit and mostly opting for a four-on-the-floor beat.  Not your conventional club tracks, these- I can imagine that hearing either of these them in a club after having injested the wrong substance could make for a seriously scary ride.  Once again though, proving that they are masters of creating other worlds in which to lose yourself with their excellent sound design, Monolake have given us quite a compelling listen in Atlas. Listen with the lights on.  -RM

The twee electro-pop of In A Modern World is barely noticeable, much less memorable.  From the horribly plodding Amuse Buche, to the annoying Train Wreck Home, oh woops, that’s Long Train Home, not much makes an impression.  The one song I have gone back to a couple of times is the previously released single, The Best Revenge.  It could have been (likely is) a discarded track from their second album, but at least it has some of the energy of their earlier albums- oh, and it has that bassline.

I remember not being super impressed with their classic Emerge until I saw the video- perhaps testament to their performance art roots and true calling.  That being said, there is a lot that I still enjoy from that album, as well as their second.  I like Casey’s voice and I think that they have proven they have some talent with their past two albums, so I suppose I will cut them some slack, wait for the remixes and hope that they have a creative revelation before they get back into the studio again.  Ps. I love the hat. -RM

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In a word, yes.  A diverse group of remixers flex their muscle across 15 tracks and there isn’t a dud among them.  Yes, Master Reese, you should definitely take credit for the top-notch source material, but we all know how easily a remix can fall flat.  Some, of course, work better than others.  Ben Sims takes “Rock To The Beat” into hypnotic tech house territory and while it it’s definitely an engaging take on the track, Christian Smith & John Selway’s decision to hold onto the synth string hook and vocal sample of the original really works to their advantage.  The rhythm parts have all been updated, but the spirit of the original track is so intact that you forget you’re not listening to Master Reese’s version.

Simian Mobile Disco use Smith & Selway’s strategy of updating, yet keeping the melody and structure of the original with their mix of “Big Fun.”  The result doesn’t sound very SMD (a good thing, in my opinion) but breathes new life into an already timeless track.  And really, what would you do if asked to remix such an utterly classic and recognizable song?  It would be hard to make it better, so best to leave most of it alone.  Good call.  Matthew Johnson, when faced with the same quandary, decided to twist “Good Life” into something so different, it couldn’t really be compared to the original.  He lays the vocal over a quirky acid line and light techno beat creating a track that is completely modern, transporting Paris Grey’s soulful vocal to the “Good Life” that she can only have imagined amidst the bombed-out buildings and general decay that defined late 1980’s urban Detroit- I can say that, I was there.

Other standouts are the unsurprisingly epic and ass-shaking Carl Craig mix of “Til We Meet Again,” and the robotic tech house of Claude VonStroke’s mix of “The Human Bond.”  Jay Haze provides the high point of the entire comp though, with his trademark late-night, stripped-back, sexed-up brand of house on “Good Love.”  This is the one track that must make the Master just a little bit jealous.  Paris’ vocal, even though recorded more than 15 years ago, sounds absolutely inspired by Jay Haze’s track.

Also included is a mix of all but two of the remixes, as well as a mini-mix of the two that were left out- not sure why Mr. Saunderson did it that way.  There’s not much of a synergy between the tracks, so the the mix ends up standing on the strength of the individual tracks.  That is to say, it fares quite well.  There isn’t much flashy dj trickery and that’s appreciated- actually, the slight messing he does with Jay Haze’s remix is a little too much for me.  The mix serves a purpose though, as it’s a more enjoyable way to listen to the whole album in one go.  You probably wouldn’t play the mix at your next house party, but you’ll certainly feel no shortage of energy if this is playing on your ipod the next time you’re at the gym.

Like adding educational video games to the Natural History Museum, these reinterpretations of Kevin Saunderson’s classic songs make history accessible to a new generation of electronic music lovers.  The creativity of the remix artists ensure that history has been elevated, and so has its relevance.  If ever there was doubt of the significant role that Detroit has played in the birth of techno as we know it, taking a listen to “History Elevate” and the originals from which these remixes came should certainly dispel it.  -RM

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Part 1 kicks things off with arguably the strongest track of the bunch, Nick Curly’s rework of Sebo K’s Diva. The name says it all as the song features a clipped house diva vocal that repeats through much of the duration.  A punchy, slightly tribal house beat gives the track a late-night dancefloor vibe that is impossible not to move to- even sitting in front of a computer keyboard.  My only complaint?  It takes about 3 minutes of the tracks 6:55 to gain steam.  That’s what a dj is for, right?  Next up is Efdemin’s take on the Sebo K/Prosumer track, Moved. Another winner here, albeit not a stomping affair like Diva, Efdemin creates a minimal/deep house groove with a meloncholy feel that is intensified by the soundtrack from some (any) cable TV news show, tracking the daily drama of the ailing economy.  Not exactly hands-in-the-air material, especially when the soulful vocal appears, saying “Stop haunting me,” but thoroughly engaging nonetheless.

D’Julz does the business on GummiHZ’s Los Los in Part 2, offering a nice minimal/tech house workout with eerie synth patterns and a hypnotic groove.  This is a deep, moody track that would do well as a set-builder in your next tech house mix.  Christian Burkhardt closes out Part 2 with his mix of Anja Scheider’s Get Away. A bass heavy tech house groove is punctuated with clipped vocal snippets and some brooding chords.  Both of these tracks are a good listen, but benefit from the imagination of a good DJ, as evidenced by the mixed version of “Back To Back.”

Mobilee rarely disappoints these days- if you are in doubt, pick up this remix pack.  Or better yet, get “Back To Back, Vol. 3″ because there is a lot more to discover from this label, if you haven’t already.  -RM

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Easily the two strongest tracks, Karin Dreijer’s Tricky Tricky and Robyn’s The Girl And The Robot show how a good collaboration can create something whose whole far surpasses the sum of its parts.  The Girl And The Robot is a slightly melodramatic, throbbing piece of electro disco that, in it’s pop perfection, may feel a bit like a guilty pleasure, but as with all good pop, works its way into your head and won’t get out.  Album stand-out Tricky Tricky is only 6 minutes long, but feels epic.  A relentless beat and urgent electronic bassline combine with Karin Dreijer’s typically energetic and spooky vocals, delivering a dark techno stomper.  Until the last 1:15 that is, when rays of light peek through the dark clouds and it’s all hopeful chord progressions riding on Moroder-style arpeggios, still foiled of course, by Dreijer’s subtely demonic vocals.  A brilliant turn I’d say and it has me salivating for another album from The Knife.

Anneli Drecker’s tracks just don’t seem to gel like the other collaborations.  I always loved her voice in Bel Canto, but it seems out of place on this modern collection of tracks.  Taken without the vocals, You Don’t Have A Clue and True To Life are perfectly competent and enjoyable Röyksopp tunes.  Add Anneli’s vocals though and the tracks become too “adult contemporary” or techno-Enya, if there ever was such a thing.  Well, I suppose that now there is.

The current single, Happy Up Here sounds an awful lot like their earlier track Eple, but it’s such a happy, carefree romp that you can’t help but like it.  Aside from the two Anneli Drecker tracks, there isn’t a bad track on the album and as was the case with The Understanding, there are some really great moments here.  And this is just the beginning, because you know we are in for a slew of interesting remixes.  And then there’s Senior. It’s a good year to be Röyksopp- and an even better year to be listening to them.  -RM

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House party band, “Hobo” step up with nine tracks of light-hearted robo-house designed to make you forget your troubles.  It’s all funky machine rhythms, quirky synth melodies, zaps and blips.  At it’s best, this formula works quite well, as on the album opener “Failsafe” with it’s perky synth bass and deadpan vocals.   “I’m not it” puts a brisk electro beat with a warbly DnB bassline (think classic Tipper) to great effect.

While not as kitsch, this album feels a lot like that old Elektroids full-length on Warp and ends up suffering the same ills.  The formulaic electro-house program of “From A to B” works well taken in small doses, but in the duration of an hour, the sound starts to get a little grating.  Perhaps like me, no longer able to keep that party-time smile on their faces, Hobo turn toward the dark and menacing on the closer “Wayside.”  And I like it!  Maybe M_nus just doesn’t know how to do happy.  But it’s ok.  Sometimes the thing we need to face the bleak reality of our world is some bleak minimal techno.  Keep that coming.  -RM

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The title track is a beautiful piece of laid-back deep house with sweet string pads and an almost ambient feel, were it not for the slight house beat pinning the track down.  The melodic elements are strong enough to stand on their own, as is evidenced by the reprise of “Jill” which all but dispenses with the beat and plays up the melancholy of strings and ambience.

Continuing in the same sad, pretty house music vein, albeit more uptempo, “Hamtramck” provides more of an incentive to put down your cup of tea and, perhaps, move your feet a bit.  A couple of catchy, simple synth hooks lay in a gauzy bed of pads and ambience, keeping your attention and softening the house beat that ticks on behind all of the melody.

Back in chill mode, the beatless “Sunrise” further explores the melancholic themes of the rest of the ep.  With a heavily reverbed bell-like synth melody and plenty of pulsing string pads and delicate ambience, it’s a beautiful piece that works as well closing out this EP as it might a late-night deep house set.

Chill and beatless or housey, the common thread in this EP is lush, gorgeous melody.  The beats, where they are included, are almost an aside to the sad, cinematic quality of the music.  Of course in tracks like Hamtramck, the beats are an welcome complement to what Lawrence does so well on this EP.  -RM

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Kicking the ep off, the original version sounds like it could slot in quite nicely on a Systematic compilation.  A pounding electro house beat and pensive, slightly forboding synth lines play well with a nice, big resonant bassline.  But it’s the monster synth riff that will have you coming back for repeated listens- or running for cover, depending upon your taste.

But you don’t have to come back as often as you might think, as the monster synth riff is the element that both remixers chose to keep in their interpretations.  It’s a little odd, as the first remix starts off with a typical (for this artist) glitch meets deep house beat and such an in-your-face element seems uncharactaristic both for Sei A and the beat he has going.  He makes it work as best he can by dialing it back a bit and layering some darkly atmospheric vocal samples with the riff.  It ends up being a more interesting journey to the same destination and a refreshing take on a tried and true electro house formula.

Locking in a more subdued and hypnotic, yet funky groove, Rievaulx sets the track up for big drama when the beast-riff swells, threatening to swallow the whole track in reverb and resonance.  There’s no holding back here, but the contrast between the slickly subdued and the overwhelming drama definitely makes for good theatre.  It’s hard to choose a favorite here and you have to credit Solaris Heights for providing great source material, but also the remixers for actually creating remixes that relate to the original track- imagine that.  Anyway, I suppose it would have to be the Sei A remix for me, but all three are winners.  -RM

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Download Podcast. The mixtape is an enduring cultural icon.  It is a gift, a diary, a love letter, a newsletter, a critique, and the soundtrack to parties, road-trips and life in general.  And it’s amazing how it has evolved over the years of my life.  My first mixtapes were crude affairs.  Not having money to buy the latest singles (45’s, kiddies), I would hold a portable cassette recorder up to my transistor radio when my favorite songs came on, often waiting for hours to get them.  Artifacts of my childhood, you could hear family voices, footsteps and other familiar sounds behind the songs.

Of course, I moved on to properly taping albums with the sound traveling through actual wires, as opposed to the air, and then on to taping CDs.  Often the cases were works of art in themselves, incorporating collage, drawing, calligraphy and later computer graphics.  Moving on to CD mixtapes was great, as there was no longer any worry of the much played and much worn tape snapping and getting tangled in the player.  And then you could import the whole thing into your computer to have with you anywere.

In the advent of MP3s and digital mixing software, the mixtape has reached a new level of complexity and personalization.  Gone are the lovingly crafted cases, but now there is a new-found emphasis on the experience of the music.  More specifically, there are more opportunities to interact with the music and make a personal or artistic statement in the way that the tracks are presented, through mixing, layering, sampling, etc.  And that brings us to the latest RobotMix podcast, my mixtape to you.  It is a catalog of many of the songs that have been moving me this past month or so- most new, some not so much.  Some may be tracks that you’ve heard before, but it’s put together in a way that makes it something personal, and something that you will only hear from me.  Enjoy.  And remember, the Robots love you.

Click here to see tracklist.